Exhaust puffing and idle is heavy

I'm having a hard time figuring out why my car is having a small
problem being sluggish while turning over, idling heavy(as far as
vibration goes, rpm is a little under 1000), and the exhaust is
puffing louder than normal. I had an oil change saturday, drove for 4
hours sunday and when i was almost to where i was going i started
losing power and thats when the shaking started. i check the dipstick
and it was below the first dot, so i put oil in. The oil never leaked
out on the 4 hour drive back home. today i replaced the spark plugs
and wires and pulled the negative cable off to clear any timing
adjustments, but still the same things going on. any ideas as to
what's happening?


Thanks,
Ricky

93 civic lx
205k miles

 

Just a shot in the dark, but the exhaust note makes me wonder if your timing
belt has slipped. If so, catastrophic failure may be in the near future
unless the belt is replaced. Retarded valve timing results in an odd
"hollow" exhaust sound. If that doesn't describe the exhaust then "never
mind." But... how long / many miles since the last timing belt change?

Mike

 

ahh geez...it's about time for a timing belt. just been a broke
college kid and don't really have the money to shell out for it.
actually have thought about getting another engine because the head
gasket has gone twice in it and had a new head put it. not sure what
types of engines i can swap. my dad keeps after me about this guy who
is selling an engine from a 95 civic si vtec, but i don't think you
can put a vtec in a car that didn't have vtec to begin with can you?

 

Ooh - the head gasket history only opens up another, even worse possibility.
Not sure of the exact head gasket design, but it is possible the gasket has
blown out between two cylinders. That will show up as uneven cranking (er,
errr, er, errr or other pattern depending on which pair of cylinders is
involved.) You can do a quickie test by removing the radiator cap - engine
cold! - and starting the engine. Pinch closed the hose to the reservoir and
put the palm of your hand over the radiator cap opening. If you feel
steadily rising pressure or pulsations the head gasket, or something equally
troublesome, is bad.

I hate to say it but I don't have a warm fuzzy feeling about this. Dunno
about swapping different engine models - there are people here more up on
that than I am.

Mike

 

I agree with Michael that your current symptoms and the previous head
gasket jobs suggest the two are related.

Go to www.honda-tech.com for advice on what engines are swappable.
Those guys/gals there love to swap engines and report on it in detail.
From reading posts there, one might say that many a honda-tech
participant has indeed hammered a square peg into a round hole. I
think they care about the joy in the journey (that is, the education)
as they do the final product.